News

SUMMER GUIDE: Cheers trail has plenty of stops

By HENDERSON COUNTY TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, Published: May 30, 2024

Henderson County’s Cheers Trail is the only trail in North Carolina that showcases five different types of craft beverages: wine, cider, beer, mead & distilled spirits. Here's the roundup:

 

Appalachian Mountain Brewing Co.

amb.beer/mills-river

46 N. Mills River Road

828-393-5618

Founded in Boone in 2013, Appalachian Mountain Brewery opened a taproom in Mills River in 2023. Founders (and cousins) Nathan Kelischek and Chris Zieber apply theirGerman heritage, love for our state and passion for the environment and outdoors to form the vision of AMB.

Appalachian Ridge Artisan Ciders

731 Chestnut Gap Road, Hendersonville
SaintPaulFarms.com
828-699-7507
Enjoy European style ciders in a renovated 1940s barn in the midst of an apple orchard. Made from traditional Henderson County apples as well as from apple trees that have been transplanted from the Normandy region of France, the cider can be enjoyed on a spacious back deck overlooking a hillside filled with apple trees.

Bear Falls Wine Company

432 North Main Street, Hendersonville
BearFallsWine.com
828-393-0945
Bear Falls Wine Company’s Downtown Hendersonville Tasting Room offers a relaxed yet upscale environment to enjoy a glass of their wine. Bear Falls produces a wide variety of wines that are grown in North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley and produced in Saluda,.

Blue Ghost Brewing Company

125 Underwood Road, Fletcher
BlueGhostBrewing.com
828-376-0159
Drawing its name from the elusive blue ghost firefly that is native to Western North Carolina, Blue Ghost makes world-class beer while promoting family, worthy causes and local wonders. Enjoy pub-style food served from the Hungry Ghost food truck.

Blue Ridge Beer Garden

402 S. Church St.

blueridgebeergarden.com

Originally a 1950s gas station, founders of Blue Ridge Beer Garden have create a modern-day filling station of a different kind. Boasting 25 beers and ciders on tap, plus an array of wine, seltzers, domestics, craft beer, and non-alcohol options, the happy space offers a large outdoor social environment that allows locals and tourists alike to enjoy a variety of local hops and yard games. It’s also the base of HVL Pedal & Brews, the city’s pedal pub tour company. 

Bold Rock Hard Cider

72 School House Road, Mills River
BoldRock.com
828-595-9940
The nation’s largest craft cidery produces a regular line of hard ciders, as well as several seasonal offerings, Bold Rock features windows overlooking the production facility, a permanent food truck, cider garden and indoor and outdoor stages for regular live music.

Burning Blush Brewery

891 Boylston Hwy., Mills River
BurningBlush.com
828-595-9859
An independently owned family establishment in the heart of Mills River, the brewery offers a half-dozen beers on tap and food trucks all in a Gothic atmosphere.

Burntshirt Vineyards

2695 Sugarloaf Road, Hendersonville
BurntshirtVineyards.com/Hendersonville
828-685-2402

Burntshirt produces a large selection of quality wines made from 100 percent estate-grown grapes at two vineyards that are among the highest elevation vineyards on the East Coast.

Burntshirt Vineyards: Chimney Rock

Tasting Room & Bistro
438 Main Street, Chimney Rock
BurntshirtVineyards.com/Chimney-Rock
828-436-2490
Burntshirt’s Chimney Rock tasting room has a patio overlooking the iconic Chimney Rock landmark and Hickory Nut Falls and a bistro features an upscale, yet approachable menu, with South-
ern classics, seafood dishes and shareable small plates.\

Dry Falls Brewing Co.

425 Kanuga Road, Hendersonville
DryFallsBrewing.com
828-696-0660
Founded in a repurposed auto body shop on Busy Bend, Dry Falls is an industrial-chic taproom serving approachable beers created by a father-son brewing team. Build a flight from the varied menu, order from the rotating food truck parked out front and settle into a pleasant tasting experience.

Cider Barn at Jeter Mountain Farm

1126 Jeter Mtn Road, Hendersonville
JeterMountainFarm.com
828-513-0404
Open seasonally from mid-July through October, the Cider Barn at Jeter Mountain Farm serves a tasty lineup of five hard ciders produced in-house from apples grown on the 411-acre farm. The farm also offers U-pick apples, berries and flowers, hayrides, a food truck, coffee shop, farm market and fresh cider doughnuts.

Guidon Brewing Company

415 8th Avenue East, Hendersonville
GuidonBrewing.com
828-595-7976

Veteran- and family-owned, Guidon Brewing is a American-German brewery that is dedicated to the art of brewing high quality beer. The owners’ combined knowledge of first-rate food and beverages from
around the world drives a passion to provide customers with the same excellence they’ve come to know and love.

Marked Tree Vineyard

623 Deep Gap Road, Flat Rock, NC 28731
MarkedTreeVineyard.com
828-513-3773

Perched atop a slope at an elevation of 2,300 feet on the Eastern Continental Divide, Marked Tree Vineyard offers 10 wine varietals made with European vinifera and French-American hybrid grapes in a picturesque setting surrounded by panoramic views.

Mills River Brewing Co.

336 Banner Farm Road, Mills River
MillsRiverBrewingCo.com

Mills River Brewing Co. is located in a bucolic section of Henderson County and has a large outdoors focus with hiking trails on property. Big Creek amber ale, Middle Fork Mosaic IPA and Laurel
Creek ESB and other brews honor local trails and natural landmarks.

 

M&T Distilling: Sippin’ on Seventh

711 Maple Street, Hendersonville
MTDistilling.com
828-551-1334

Hendersonville’s first (legal) distillery in modern times, M&T Distilling believes in producing small batch, high quality moonshine and other spirits in a way that follows the heritage of our region and forefathers, using an all-copper still and producing a straight
100-proof corn moonshine from locally-grown corn.

Oklawaha Brewing Co.

147 First Avenue East, Hendersonville
OklawahaBrewing.com
828-595-9956
In the heart of downtown Hendersonville, Oklawaha Brewing Co. is a nano brewery and taproom dedicated to making small batch, high quality artisanal ales. Regularly features live music, trivia nights and much more.

Point Lookout Vineyards

408 Appleola Road, Hendersonville
PointLookoutVineyards.com
828-393-5793

Pairing of traditional wines with 30-mile vistas from an expansive open-air tasting room at 3,000 feet, Point Lookout offers 10 dry and semi-sweet wines, a coffee shop and an events pavilion with regular live music.

Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards

588 Chestnut Gap Road, Hendersonville
SaintPaulFarms.com
828-685-4002
Saint Paul, which became the first winery in Hendersonville when it opened in 2011, is surrounded by vineyards on land that has been in the same family for nine generations. Guided tastings showcase award-winning wines made from 14 varietals of French vinifera grapes.

Sawyer Springs Vineyard

124 Sandy Hill Lane, Hendersonville
SawyerSpringsVineyard.com
828-698-4383
A family-run operation on land that has been farmed by the same family for six generations, Sawyer Springs produces vintages in small
batches served in a rustic tasting barn. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot, Riesling and Muscadine, the tasting room also serves fruit wines made from blueberries and strawberries.

Sideways Farm & Brewery

62 Eade Road, Etowah
SidewaysFarm.com
828-595-3445
Surrounded by gardens, pastures and fields, Sideways emphasizes the connection between the land and the beer, using ingredients grown on the farm in its ever-rotating lineup. The tasting experience is much
like a winery; customers gather around a U-shaped bar and a bartender explains the ingredients, flavors, aromas and story behind each beer.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

100 Sierra Nevada Way, Mills River
SierraNevada.com
828-681-5300

Craft beer enthusiasts flock to the East Coast headquarters of Sierra Nevada. The palatial brewery — complete with tasting room, restaurant and beer garden — features stunning design with a commitment to
sustainability, insider perspective via comprehensive brewery tours and a chef-driven menu of tapas-style dishes.

Southern Appalachian Brewery

822 Locust Street, Hendersonville
SABrewery.com
828-684-1235
In beer crazed North Carolina, each small town has its brewery pioneer, and Hendersonville’s is Southern Appalachian. Founded in 2011 in the Historic Seventh Avenue District. Southern App has a friendly taproom featuring its Copperhead amber ale, Black Bear stout, live music and good times.

Souther Williams Vineyard

655 Hoopers Creek Road, Fletcher
SoutherWilliams.com
828-483-6070
Souther Williams is the latest addition to Hendersonville’s Crest of the Blue Ridge wine country. On land that’s been in the same family since 1800, Souther Williams cultivates well-known varietals like Cabernet Franc, Riesling and Vidal Blanc, along with lesser-known grapes from Austria, Germany and Eastern Europe.

Stone Ashe Vineyards

736 Green Mtn Road, Hendersonville
StoneAsheVineyards.com
828-551-5643
Stone Ashe’s state-of-the-art tasting room rests on a bluff at 2,700 feet in elevation, surrounded by vineyards planted with vines cloned from Bordeaux. Stone Ashe produces wines for the world stage using classic grape varietals such as Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Riesling.

Trailside Brewing Co.

 

873 Lenox Park Drive

Trailsidebrews.com

Among the first to capitalize on the Ecusta Trail, the brother-and-sister development team of Bart Salvaggio and Dale Salvaggio-Bradshaw and their spouses renovated a historic commercial-industrial space — it’s been home to the Freeze-Bacon Hosiery Mill, the Wing Paper Box company and the city’s first Lowe’s location — Trailside is now a social anchor in the Lennox Park Historic District. It’s within a bean bag toss of the Ecusta Trail, which will channel hundreds of thirsty bicycle riders, joggers and strollers onto the grounds near the end of an out-and-back ride. Trailside just celebrated the ground opening of a full bar on Saturday night. Hours are 4-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 4-10 p.m. Saturday and noon-10 p.m. Sunday.

 

Two Trees Distilling Co.

17 Continuum Drive, Fletcher
TwoTreesDistilling.com
828-419-0727
Henderson County’s first distillery in modern times, Two Trees Distilling Co. crafts a large selection of traditional and flavored whiskies using a process that mirrors and accelerates the natural process of aging alcohol in wooden barrels. Tasting room is open 7 days a week.

World’s Edge Meadery

408 Appleola Road, Hendersonville
PointLookoutVineyards.com/meads
828-393-5793
Located at Point Lookout Vineyards, World’s Edge produces seven meads: wildflower and orange blossom, apple, raspberry, tropical fruit, chamomile and A type of wine made from honey, mead was popular during Colonial times and offers a nice alternative to Point Lookout’s wine collection.